


Broadway Ending

by persephone_garnata



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angie/Dottie UST, Daniel/Jack UST, Dottie is obsessed with Peggy, Dr Samberly/Rose UST, Episode: s02e10 Hollywood Ending, F/F, Fix-It, Light-Hearted, Non-Sexual Bondage, Peggy/Angie established relationship, Peggy/Dottie UST, Post-Series, UST, there's basically a buttload of UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 22:56:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6213475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephone_garnata/pseuds/persephone_garnata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fix-it fic for Hollywood Ending for those who thought it needed less het and more Cartinelli and/or Carterwood.</p>
<p>Turns out Dottie's obsession with Peggy is behind quite a few unexplained events... our favorite Russian assassin has disguises, handcuffs, firearms and pheromone gas at her disposal, and will stop at nothing to get close to Peggy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broadway Ending

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a light-hearted attempt to make the ending of Agent Carter Season 2 1000% more gay, while not directly contradicting the events shown on screen (although some of them are, um, reinterpreted).

Broadway Ending

 

                ‘Hey English, you better start walking those lovely legs back to the big Apple right now because guess what’s coming to Broadway?’

                ‘Another revival of Porgy and Bess?’

                ‘No, silly. Me!’

                ‘You’ve got a part? Oh, Angie, that’s wonderful. What’s the show?’

                ‘It’s called “The Gangster Queen”. It’s about a factory girl who loses her job after the GIs get home, takes to crime, and becomes the boss of an all-female gang.’

                ‘Sounds great.’

                ‘Then she gets investigated by a handsome G-man, falls in love with him, and decides to marry him and go straight.’

                ‘That’s a shame.’

                ‘Well, you can’t have everything, can you?’

                ‘I suppose not. Are you playing the title role?’

Angie laughed into the phone, and Peggy felt a little stab of longing for her.

                ‘Are you kidding me? Nah. But – get this – I was in the chorus, just one of the gangster gals. Then one of the girls on the main cast got sick, so now I’ve been moved up to play the Gangster Queen’s sidekick, Mobster Molly. I’m fourth billed!’

                ‘That’s great, Angie. You’ll be a leading lady in no time.’

                ‘I can keep dreaming. But I need my leading lady. Come home, Peg. The bed’s awful big and cold without you.’

                ‘I’ll be home as soon as I can, my darling. I just need to finish off a couple of things in the office, and then I’ll be on the next plane back to New York. And I’ll expect a warm welcome when I get there.’

                ‘Oh, you betcha. Open arms, and open legs. And open mouth, ready for my English muffin.’

                Peggy blushed, and giggled. She’d still not quite got the hang of talking dirty.

                ‘See you soon, Angie. I’m sorry this trip has taken so long.’

                ‘Yeah? I’m sorry too. Love you, Pegs.’

                ‘Love you too.’

                She put the phone down, sighed, and spent a couple of minutes smiling stupidly to herself, imagining the things she and Angie could do when she got back home. Fondue wasn’t the half of it.

 

***

 

It had been so easy to sneak into the SSR’s LA branch, disguised as a cleaner. She didn’t like the outfit much – even she struggled to look good in dowdy overalls – but it got her in anywhere she wanted to go, hidden in plain sight. And once inside the SSR, it had been easy to get into Chief Sousa’s office. She hadn’t even bothered to wait for him to take a bathroom break – she just walked right in and started cleaning the place as he did some paperwork, and hid the device beneath his desk while he shifted his feet and walking stick to make room for her to scrub the floor.

                Now she lurked in the corner of the outer office, dusting some filing cabinets, and watched from the corner of her eye as Peggy Carter came in. She strode confidently as she always did, radiating competence and class. She was wearing a royal blue dress with three triangular cut-outs around the neckline, edged in a paler shade of blue. And even though she’d seen Peggy in far more revealing outfits, something about those three exposed triangles of flawless skin made Dottie’s heart skip a beat.

                ‘Soon, oh soon,’ she muttered to herself. ‘For now, work to do.’

                She saw Peggy go into Sousa’s office. Dottie reached into her pocket, paused for a moment with a brief flicker of jealousy for what she knew would happen, and then set off the remote control for the device she’d placed under the desk.

                She stayed around the SSR long enough to be confident the device was working, then went back to the hotel to change into her next disguise.

 

***

 

                Dottie had to admit that some of the things she did left a bad taste in her mouth. Shooting Jack Thompson wasn’t one of them. If anything, it left a decidedly pleasant taste in her mouth, and a sense of deep satisfaction in her stomach, as if she’d just eaten a good home-cooked meal. She stepped into the room, treading carefully in her over-size men’s shoes, making sure to leave some nice misleading footprints in the blood leaking from Jack’s shoulder.

                If the bullet had gone where she’d intended it to – and it had, she was sure of that, bullets always went where she meant them to – it had pierced him through the right lung. A painful and debilitating injury, but not fatal. Probably. It seemed kind of a shame to not just kill him, but when she’d been working undercover at the fundraiser, Peggy had been inexplicably adamant that she leave him alive. She was a bit sentimental like that sometimes, thought Dottie. It was a weakness of hers – and yet somehow also a strength.

                She went through Jack’s briefcase, and smiled when she found the incriminating dossier. Maybe Vernon Masters had fabricated the damning details about Peggy’s war record, and that had made Thompson’s own attempt to blackmail her a failure. But then, Jack Thompson was an amateur – barely deserving of the title Agent, let alone Chief. And Dottie had two things he sorely lacked: utter determination, and knowledge of where the real leverage over Peggy Carter lived.

 

***

               

It had been a delicious, exhilarating feeling, like getting drunk on love – while it lasted. Now, it was over, and Peggy and Daniel stood on opposite sides of his desk, staring at each other.

                ‘I – um,’ started Daniel.

                ‘I’m sorry,’ Peggy cut in.

                ‘No, I’m sorry. My fault. I – got carried away. I mean, sure, you’re a very attractive woman, but it’s not professional… and Violet…’

                ‘Yes, Violet. She’s a lovely girl,’ said Peggy, trying desperately to remain calm and detached while her mind was screaming at her, in Angie’s voice, ‘what the heck did you do that for English? You’ve got a red-hot soon-to-be Broadway star waiting for you back in NYC, why you wanna kiss Chief Sousa? Sure he’s cute and he seems a decent guy, but he ain’t got nothin’ on that Martinelli gal. And this is going to make working with him real awkward. Better get on that flight back to New York and make it snappy.’

                The flight back to New York… she would be too late for it now. And – oh no –

                ‘You told Chief Thompson I was taking more leave!’ she said, hand half over her mouth. ‘I don’t want more leave. I want to go home.’

                ‘I’ll call him back right away, tell him there was a mix-up. He might still be at the hotel.’ Daniel picked up the phone. Peggy started hunting round the office.

                ‘What are you looking for?’ Daniel asked, as he waited to be connected.

                ‘There must be something – some reason we acted like that,’ she said. ‘You remember that Midnight Oil gas which made everyone violent? It’s like someone figured out how to reverse the effects, and make us – well.’ She coughed, cheeks burning, and continued her search.

                She found it, hidden beneath the desk, just as she heard Daniel say ‘And you’re totally sure he hasn’t checked out yet?’

                ‘Bingo,’ she said, standing up with the empty gas canister in her hand. Daniel stared at her, open-mouthed, and said into the phone ‘Can you check his room? It’s not like him to fall asleep.’

                Then, after a brief pause, he said ‘Sure, I’ll hold.’ And then, to her: ‘What’s that you’ve found, Peggy?’

                ‘I’m not sure, but maybe Dr Samberly can help. I’ll take it to the lab.’

 

***

 

                ‘Oh, so you still need my help now your adventure’s over? Well, I am quite busy you know, I do have a regular job and I’ve gotten quite behind with my work…’

                ‘I know, Doctor. Your work here is very important, and I know Chief Sousa thinks you are absolutely indispensable to the SSR.’

                ‘Indispensable? That was the word he used?’

                ‘Absolutely indispensable. His exact words.’

                Dr Samberly took a moment while his ego visibly puffed up.

                ‘And I know it’s a lot to ask,’ Peggy continued, ‘but the Chief thinks this is particularly important. Found at – um – a crime scene. Very time-sensitive.’

                ‘Well,’ said the scientist, ‘I suppose I could take a quick look at it…’

                ‘It would be very much appreciated.’

                As Dr Samberly took the little canister off her, she could hear someone coming urgently down the corridor, and she instantly recognized Daniel Sousa’s stumping gait.  A moment later, he burst into the lab, and it didn’t take much sleuthing ability to tell from his face that something was very, very wrong.

                ‘It’s Ja- Chief Thompson! He’s been shot!’

                ‘What?’ said Peggy and Dr Samberly in unison.

                ‘When the maid went to check his hotel room, she found him lying on the floor with a bullet in his shoulder and his blood all over the floor.’

                ‘Is he dead?’ asked Peggy, trying not to sound too hopeful.

                Daniel shook his head. ‘Nah, he’s still alive – but only just. They’re taking him to hospital now.’

                ‘I don’t believe it,’ said Dr Samberly, ‘who could want to kill Dr Thompson?’

                Peggy and Daniel looked at each other.

                ‘No idea,’ said Daniel carefully. ‘But we need to find out.’

                ‘I’ll help,’ said Peggy, and then turned to the Doctor. ‘I have a hunch this may be connected with that canister.’

                ‘I’ll get right on it,’ he said, and took the canister over to his work bench.

                ‘I suppose we’d better take a look at this hotel,’ said Peggy, ‘and I’ll just have to stay in Los Angeles for another couple of days. Or however long it takes.’ More time without Angie, she thought with a wrench of sadness. But duty calls…

                ‘I could handle it by myself, and you go back-’ Daniel said, but Peggy interrupted him before he could finish.

                ‘I wouldn’t hear of leaving you in the lurch. We can do better together, can’t we? Or would you prefer not to have my help?’

                There was, of course, another question underneath the surface of what she said: We can still work together, can’t we?

                Daniel just nodded slightly. ‘Of course I’d prefer to have your help, Peggy.’

 

***

 

                ‘English! Home at last,’ Angie called out when she heard the door of the apartment open. ‘You sure took your time.’

                She had just gotten home from a shift at the L&L and she had was in the bedroom, about to get changed out of her uniform – but meeting Peggy the second she walked through the door was much more important than anything else. She ran into the corridor and saw a woman in a blue pantsuit, with dark hair and a red hat pulled low over her face.

                ‘Peggy!’

                At the last moment before Angie could envelop her in her arms, the woman lifted her head, showing the face under the hat.

                ‘Iowa?’ said Angie, and then the other woman grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her on the mouth.

 

***

               

Angie had vivid but confusing dreams in which she kept running towards Peggy – and always Dottie would step between them and drag her away before she could reach her.

‘Peggy…’ she moaned, and turned over in her sleep. Or rather, tried to turn over, because something stopped her. ‘Peggy?’ she said again, confused.

‘Not quite,’ said a voice, which definitely wasn’t Peggy’s. Angie opened her eyes, and saw Dottie Underwood sitting by her bed, smiling. The kind of smile a spider gives a fly.

‘Sweet dreams?’ Dottie asked, and Angie remembered the kiss. Peggy had told her about how Dottie had stolen her lipstick and knocked her out with a narcotic kiss in the hallway of the Griffith. She’s always felt just a little bit jealous that Dottie had kissed Peggy first. And now she’d had her own taste of Dottie’s deadly lips. She tried to move, so she could slap her round the face, but couldn’t – and she realized why. Dottie had handcuffed her to the bed.

‘What do you think you’re doing, you –’ she started to say, but Dottie cut her off with a finger pressed against her lips.

‘Ssh, try to calm down. Getting all wound up isn’t going to help you. And try not to struggle, you’ll only hurt yourself, you’re not used to sleeping handcuffed.’

Angie pulled her face to one side so she could speak again. ‘What, and you are?’

‘Oh yes.’ Dottie smiled again, this time less like a spider and more like a corn-fed Iowa girl, which was even more disturbing. She stood up, and looked Angie up and down, inspecting her like she was a prize heifer at the state fair.

‘You are such a cute thing,’ she said, ‘especially in that adorable waitress outfit. I can see why Peggy likes you so much.’ She put a hand on Angie’s knee and then slid it upwards a couple of inches. Angie tried to scoot herself further up the bed, with limited success. She would have kicked Dottie in the face, only her feet had been tied to the bed as well.

‘Yeah?’ she said, putting as much bravado into the word as she could, ‘And when Peggy gets back, she is gonna kick your ass.’

Dottie looked amused at that. ‘Oh, I’m sure she’ll try. But she’s not back yet, is she?’

Abruptly, she pulled away from Angie, and walked over to the telephone. ‘Let’s give her a call, shall we?’

 

***

 

                The results of the preliminary investigation had been a mixed success. Chief Thompson had stabilized but not regained consciousness, so he was no help in finding his own attacker. The staff at the hotel had seen only vague glimpses of a suited man, which could be anyone, and there were footprints in the room from a man’s shoe, which didn’t narrow it down much. Nothing seemed to be missing from the hotel room – except the faked dossier Vernon Masters had given Jack. While Dr Samberly had reported back after lab analysis that the canister bore traces of some kind of gas which he thought would induce feelings of romantic euphoria. Just as Peggy had thought – that moment of madness between her and Daniel Sousa had been deliberately created as a diversion, while someone went to shoot Jack and steal the dossier.

                ‘You know,’ she said to Daniel, when they were back in his office, feeling in a substantially less euphoric mood than before, ‘I hate to sound arrogant, but I can’t help wondering if this is somehow all about me.’

                Daniel laughed, without much humor. ‘Who’d be that obsessed with you, Peg?’

                Peggy didn’t answer the question. ‘But how could the gas canister have been concealed? Are you sure there were no strangers in here today? No time when someone could have come in without you knowing?’

                ‘I don’t think so. Nobody in here all day but me. And you, obviously. And I guess the cleaner – a new girl I think. She was very thorough.’

                ‘A cleaner? What did she look like?’

                ‘I dunno. She was just the cleaner, y’know, and I was busy with paperwork. I didn’t look at her closely.’

                ‘Classic infiltration technique – hide in plain sight.’

                Daniel didn’t meet her eye. Just then, the phone rang, and Peggy thought he seemed rather relieved at the interruption. He answered it, and then –

                ‘It’s for you,’ he said, a grave expression on his face, and handed her the receiver.

                ‘Hello?’ she said, while he moved out of her way.

                ‘Well hello there Peggy,’ said an incongruously cheerful voice.

                ‘Dottie. Where are you?’ Peggy flashed Daniel a look and flapped her hand at him, trying to convey the idea he should deploy their latest phone-tracking technology.

                ‘Oh, don’t bother to try and trace the call,’ said Dottie, ‘I’ll tell you where I am. I’m in your apartment, back in New York City. It’s very nice. So many security features – it took me quite a while to find them all. And such a lovely room-mate you have.’

                ‘Have you done anything to Angie?’ asked Peggy, very slowly, between clenched teeth.

                ‘Oh no, not yet. She’s perfectly safe. Just a little bit – tied up – right now.’

                ‘What do you want?’

                Dottie laughed. ‘Isn’t it obvious? Hasn’t it always been obvious? I just want you, Peg. Now, here’s what’s going to happen next. You’re going to come back to New York, on the next plane. Come home to your lovely apartment and your even lovelier girlfriend, and then you and me, we’re going to have a nice talk.’

                ‘And what if I don’t do that?’

                Dottie laughed again. ‘Oh, don’t be silly, Peggy. We both know you’re going to come here, just as I’ve asked. Angie knows it too, don’t you Angie?’

                And then – oh dear God – she could hear Angie’s voice on the line, faint but unmistakeable, saying ‘Please come home, Peg! Don’t leave me with her!’

                ‘All right,’ said Peggy, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can. But I swear, if you touch one hair on her head, I will kill you.’

                ‘Aw Peggy, you think I’d hurt her? I would never do that. Angie and I are making friends, aren’t we?’

                Peggy heard Angie say ‘Is this how you treat all your friends?’

                ‘Why yes, as a matter of fact, it is,’ said Dottie. ‘Hurry home, Peg.’

                And then she hung up.

                Peggy, pale-faced and trembling slightly, put the phone receiver down. ‘I need to go back to New York,’ she said, ‘right away.’

                ‘You want some other agents with you?’

                ‘No, I should go alone. Dottie wants me – she’d only hurt anyone else who got in her way.’

                ‘All right, if you’re sure.’

                ‘I’m sure. You carry on with the investigation here – although I suspect it’ll all lead back to Dottie.’

                Daniel shrugged. ‘Maybe. We’ll see what Jack says when he wakes up. In fact, I think I’ll head back out to the hospital now, see how he’s doing.’

                He got to his feet, and the two of them went downstairs together. In the Auerbach Theatrical Agency office they found Dr Samberly, leaning on Rose’s desk in a would-be suave manner, chatting to her with a big dopey grin on his face.

                ‘Oh, hello,’ he said, abruptly straightening up when they came in, the grin vanishing and being replaced by a blush. ‘I’ll just – um – work to do!’ And he scuttled off, back to his lab.

                Rose tutted her tongue indulgently and half-smiled at his back. Then she saw the expression on Peggy’s face. ‘Everything all right?’ she asked.

                ‘Not really, no,’ she said, ruthlessly blinking back her tears. ‘It’s Angie. She’s been – Dottie’s got her.’

                Rose Roberts was the only person inside the SSR who knew the true nature of Peggy’s relationship with her ‘room-mate’. She kept admirable control of her facial muscles.

                ‘Well, when you kick Dottie in the face, give her an extra kick from me.’

                Peggy managed to smile. ‘I will.’

                Rose turned to Daniel. ‘And where are you off to, Chief Sousa?’

                ‘I’m going to see Ja- Chief Thompson.’

                ‘Has he woken up then?’ Rose didn’t look too excited about that.

                ‘Not sure,’ said Daniel, ‘but I’m going to sit by bedside until he does. It’s, um, very important for the investigation.’

                ‘Of course,’ said Rose, blandly. ‘Well, good luck to you both.’

 

***

               

                Peggy thought that journey back to New York was the longest journey she’d ever had to endure, including transatlantic flights waiting for combat drops during the War. All she could think about was Angie, her wonderful darling talented adorable Angie, in the clutches of that ruthless, psychotic, and not remotely sexy Russian assassin bitch.

                As she made her way up to the penthouse apartment Howard Stark had lent them – with no questions asked about what two gal-pals might be getting up to behind closed doors – she had time to wonder briefly if she should perhaps have taken up Daniel’s offer of help. But then – if she’d have tried anything funny, would Dottie have hurt Angie? And she should really be able to take on Dottie by herself – she was, scary Russian training notwithstanding, still just one woman. Besides, Dottie was fixated on her, so this was her mess, and she had a duty to try and clean it up.

                She came into the apartment and stalked through the corridors, her pistol at the ready, her senses all on high alert, but everything seemed normal. Then she walked into the huge circular drawing room and saw - Angie. And – oh thank God – she was unharmed.

                ‘English!’ Angie called out, and tried to run to her. Something stopped her though, a few feet short. And Peggy saw what – a leather belt round her neck, padlocked and attached to a length of rope, which was in turn attached to one of the candelabrum-style light fittings.

                ‘Angie,’ said Peggy, and stepped forwards, closing the gap so she could wrap her arms around her girlfriend. It meant dropping her guard for a moment but she didn’t care – all she wanted was to feel Angie’s warm flesh pressed against her and know she was safe.

                ‘Oh Peggy,’ she said into her neck, ‘I’m so glad you’re home.’

                ‘It’s so good to see you, Peg,’ said Dottie, from behind Peggy, and Peggy heard the doors to the room shut. She whipped round, still keeping one arm wrapped protectively around Angie.

                Dottie stood by the door, smiling, and apparently unarmed. In one hand she held a manila folder.

                ‘Welcome home,’ she said.

                ‘What do you want?’ Peggy asked. She could feel the pistol in her hand, the metal warmed by her skin. Could she just shoot her? But it would be a shame to get blood all over Howard’s lovely apartment.

                ‘I told you already, Peg. I just want you. And now here you are.’

                ‘Yes, I’m here. Now let Angie go.’

                ‘In a minute. Let me just make a couple of things clear. This’ – she held up the manila folder – ‘is a copy of a file I got from your good friend Jack Thompson, showing what a naughty girl you were during the war.’

                ‘That file is a fake.’

                ‘Does the secretary of state know that?’

                Peggy didn’t answer.

                ‘Didn’t think so. I’ve arranged with some contacts for the original of this file to be sent to him, and further copies to be sent to a few other select individuals, if I don’t make a weekly phone call at a certain time. So if you’re tempted to kill me, which I’m guessing you probably are, then you might want to reconsider - if you don’t want your life to become significantly more… restricted.’

                She smiled again.

                ‘And I’m the only one who knows where the key to that padlock is.’

                Peggy snorted. ‘I could pick that lock in minutes.’

                ‘Do you want to bet on that? And bet that it doesn’t have any nasty surprises lying in wait for your precious Angie if you try to tamper with it?’

                ‘You’re bluffing.’

                ‘Am I?’

                ‘Screw you, Iowa,’ said Angie, then buried her head in Peggy’s shoulder. Peggy patted her on the arm. She was still wearing her L&L uniform, rather crumpled and worse for wear. ‘It’s all right my darling,’ she said, under her breath. ‘I’ll take care of this.’ Then, to Dottie:

                ‘So why are you doing all this? What is it you want from me?’

                Dottie widened her eyes, all deceptive blue innocence.

                ‘Why, Peg, I want a fresh start. I want to be on your side.’

                Silence for a few moments while Peggy tried to digest this. ‘So…’ she said, slowly, ‘you shot Chief Thompson,’

                ‘How is he, by the way?’

                ‘He’ll live,’ said Peggy without much enthusiasm. ‘Last thing I heard, Chief Sousa was going to sit at his bedside to wait for him to wake up.’

                ‘Of course he is.’

                ‘You stole a dossier about me, you kidnapped Angie,’

                ‘I didn’t kidnap her, she’s been at home all along! I just – restrained her.’

                ‘You restrained Angie,’ said Peggy, her patience worn decidedly thin, ‘and blackmailed me into coming here and letting you live. All so – you could be on my side?’

                Dottie nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right.’ She smiled. ‘So how about it? Want to work together?’

                Peggy shook her head, unable to find words. Angie found them for her.

                ‘You’re totally batcrap crazy, Iowa,’ she said. ‘You did all this to make friends with Peggy?’

                ‘What was I supposed to do, buy a bunch of violets?’

                Peggy coughed. ‘Why do you imagine I’d want to work with you? You’ve amply demonstrated you can’t be trusted. I couldn’t possibly recommend you for the SSR.’

                ‘Ah, but not everything you do is strictly with the SSR, is it? You weren’t supposed to work with me before, after all.’

                ‘Maybe not. But I have no intention of doing any more work outside the remit of the SSR, if I can possibly help it.’

                ‘Aw, you’re no fun.’ Dottie turned her lower lip down. ‘Couldn’t we have our own adventures?’

                ‘No, we could not. I’m sure you could find some legitimate job to do, if you are genuinely set on going straight-’

                ‘Who said anything about going straight? I don’t care what side of the law I’m on, I just want to be on your side.’

                ‘Why me? What’s so special about me?’

                Angie made a strange noise, half laugh and half snort. ‘You can’t see it, English?’

                ‘See what?’

                Angie took a step away from her, and looked her up and down. ‘That,’ she said, with a gesture that encompassed Peggy’s whole body, mind, and general demeanor.  Then she glanced at Dottie. ‘She sees it, don’t you Iowa?’

                ‘Oh you bet I do.’ Dottie winked at Peggy, which made her feel distinctly uncomfortable.

                ‘See what?’ she demanded, hands on hips.

                ‘She’s so adorable when she stands like that, isn’t she?’ said Dottie, to Angie.

                ‘She sure is.’

                The two of them both looked at Peggy in exactly the same way. She felt even less comfortable.

                ‘What?’ she asked. ‘What is it?’

                ‘That accent,’ said Angie.

                ‘I know,’ said Dottie, ‘isn’t it just darling?’

                ‘And the legs, am I right Iowa?’

                ‘Definitely. And the rest of those curves.’ Dottie made an hourglass shape in the air. The action made her drop the dossier, but she didn’t seem to care.

                ‘Don’t forget those big brown eyes,’ said Angie, gazing at Peggy lovingly. ‘And that thick glossy hair.’

                ‘And those luscious lips.’

                ‘Iowa, you have no idea.’

                They laughed, together, which Peggy found a little unsettling.

                ‘But most of all,’ said Dottie, ‘it’s the determination. The iron will to get things done, and nothing gets in her way. That’s what I want in a woman.’

                ‘Yeah,’ said Angie. ‘She never stops fighting the good fight, do you English?’

                ‘Well,’ said Peggy, dusting imaginary specks of dirt from her clothes and blushing violently, ‘It’s certainly nice to be admired. But Dottie, you know I can’t – be – with you. Not like that. I’m already taken.’

                ‘Damn right,’ said Angie.

                ‘Oh I know that,’ said Dottie. ‘I just want to be close to you.’

                ‘So I gather. But what, exactly, do you intend to do?’

                ‘Well, if you’re not going to come on adventures with me, I guess I’ll just have to get some kind of a regular job. Never had one of those before. Could be fun. Don’t know what I’ll do, though.’

                ‘What are you good at, besides killing and tying people up?’ Peggy asked.

                Angie answered the question for her. ‘She’s real good at acting. And she’s got great legs. Can you carry a tune, Iowa?’

                ‘If I have to.’

                ‘Then perhaps you could join the show I’m in. There’s a vacancy in the chorus line now I’ve been bumped up to play the sidekick.’

                ‘That’s a great idea,’ said Dottie, then added thoughtfully, ‘although I’m not sure I want to be just in the chorus line. I’d rather be the star. How did you get bumped up to sidekick?’

                ‘The girl playing the role got mono so she had to drop out.’

                ‘So…’ said Dottie, turning her head on one side, ‘if the star of the show got mono too, or she got run down by a car, or she fell out of a twentieth-floor window…’

                ‘No!’ said Peggy and Angie together.

                ‘If you want to be with me, in any way, you are not to kill or maim anyone, you understand?’ said Peggy sternly.

                ‘Aw, Peg, you’re no fun!’

                ‘You already said that. And yet you’re still here. So I must be fun enough for you.’

                Dottie looked her up and down again. ‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘you’re fun enough for me.’

                ‘So,’ Angie cut in, ‘I can get you a job in the chorus, you can let me off this leash, and we’ve got five spare bedrooms so you can sleep in the one furthest away from us. Everyone’s happy.’

                ‘Are you sure Broadway is the place for a woman who’s wanted for murder and several other crimes?’ Peggy asked.

                ‘Sure,’ said Dottie. ‘It’s basic infiltration. Hide in plain sight.’

                ‘And are you sure you’re happy with her being here?’ Peggy asked Angie.

                Angie shrugged. ‘Not really. But if she promises not to handcuff me to the bed again, I’ll put up with her. She makes a good beetroot soup and potato dumplings. And she’s the only person in the world who feels as strongly about you as I do. She’ll do anything to protect you.’

                Dottie gave her a broad smile. ‘There, see Peggy? We’re friends already. And I promise not to handcuff anyone to the bed in this household, except myself. Unless you want me to, of course.’

                She winked at Peggy, who felt a twinge of something deep down inside. Something dirty, but also… delicious.

 

***

 

                ‘So what did Jack have to say for himself when he woke up?’ Peggy asked down the phone line to Los Angeles.

                ‘Not much,’ said Daniel. ‘He mostly just seemed real happy to still be alive. And to see me. Never thought I’d see him so happy to see me.’

                His voice drifted off dreamily into silence, and then Peggy coughed slightly.

                ‘Yes, um, he said he didn’t see the face of the guy who plugged him. Hat pulled down low. Just said it was a guy in a suit. And claimed there wasn’t anything stolen from the hotel room.’

                Well that’s a lie, thought Peggy, but then she wouldn’t have expected Jack Thompson to own up to having fabricated files in his possession.

                ‘So we’re kinda drawing a blank here,’ said Daniel. ‘How are things in New York? You catch Dottie?’

                ‘No,’ said Peggy carefully, ‘she ran off soon after I got here. Looks like she just wanted to scare me. No idea where she is now.’

                ‘Your room-mate all right?’

                ‘Angie? She’s fine. She’s in a Broadway show, you know. Playing the sidekick of the Gangster Queen. It opens tomorrow night – she’s got me a front row seat.’

                Peggy couldn’t keep the pride from her voice.

                ‘Gangster Queen? Ain’t that the show I read about in the papers? Where they had to replace the leading lady with a chorus girl at the last minute after she broke her leg in a freak accident?’

                ‘Yes,’ said Peggy, ‘that’s the one. Poor girl. She should make a full recovery, though.’

She had better make a full recovery, she thought, or there will be big trouble.

‘But I’m sure the promoted chorus girl will do a good job,’ she went on, ‘Angie tells me she’s a great actress. She can play any part you care to chuck at her. And she’s very dedicated.’

Fanatically so, she thought, with a little smile all to herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are always very welcome.  
> If you liked this fic, please feel free to come say hi on tumblr:  
> http://persephone-garnata.tumblr.com/


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